MedPlast rebrands non-medical business as UPG

TEMPE, ARIZ. (Nov. 6, 1:15 p.m. ET) — Medical molder and contract manufacturer MedPlast Inc. is rebranding all its non-medical business under the UPG name that it acquired in April where it bought UPG International Inc.

The realignment, announced Nov. 6, means UPG will operate as the industrial business company of MedPlast with five plants: two in Suzhou, China; one in Wales; one in Minneapolis; and a new 36,000 square foot plant in Houston that replaces a UPG plant five miles away.

Unlike the previous plant in Houston, which made medical and industrial products, the new plant — which opened last week — will manufacture only non-medical products. It will have 15 molding presses, automated assembly operations, pad printing, sonic welding and custom fixture manufacturing.

The five dedicated UPG plants will make precision plastic products and produce value-added services for four main markets: consumer, automotive, energy and datacenter products for the electronics and telecommunications industries.

MedPlast will have 10 plants that will concentrate on the medical and healthcare markets: the five plants it had prior to the acquisition in Tempe, Ariz.; Elkhorn, Wis.; Monticello, Iowa; West Berlin, N.J. and Westfield, Pa.; plus two former UPG facilities in Suzhou, China and additional former UPG plants in Tijuana, Mexico; Fremont, Calif., and Chicopee, Mass.

Both companies will be headquartered in Tempe, Ariz.

Based on data on the company website, MedPlast will have 332 presses ranging in size up to 1,000 tons of clamping force and 579,000 square feet of manufacturing plant space—with 379,000 of that in the United States, 62,000 in Mexico and 138,000 square feet in China.

Its medical footprint also includes 10 Class 100,000 clean rooms—five in the U.S., one in Mexico and four in China. It also has a Class 10,000 clean room in the United States.

UPG will have three white rooms, 89 presses ranging in size up to 1,000 tons of clamping force and roughly 170,000 square feet of manufacturing space—split nearly equally between the U.S., and its three overseas locations,

At the time of the merger, the company’s estimated combined sales were $250 million, with 60 percent of that from medical, which suggests that MedPlast has roughly $150 million in sales going forward and UPG $100 million.

MedPlast had acquired UPG to gain a foothold in the China market, where UPG had four plants.

Separating the medical business from its other businesses is “an approach that allows customers to capitalize on our unique industry synergies and solutions that deliver superior return on investment,” said CEO Harold Faig in a statement released by the company. “Each brand retains its focus, delivers industry-leading solutions to its individual customer base, and allows for growth from new business and organically,”

He said the new structural orientation, for example, has dramatically increased plant utilization at UPG and heightened the ability of UPG to win major on-shoring assignments.

It additionally has the ability to process elastomeric and silicone materials, and provide medical customers value-added services such as partial- and full-assembly, contract sterilization, lab services, and global supply chain and logistics management.

MedPlast was formed in April 2008 when Baird Capitol Partners purchased family-owned K&W Medical Specialties of Westfield, Pa and the engineered rubber and plastics group of Applied Tech Products Corp. and hired Faig to lead what was at the time a $90 million medical manufacturer.